Integrating content repositories such as Oracle Content Server with your desktop applications improves your ability to work with files on the content server. You can easily manage files on the server and share files with other users directly from your desktop in addition to logging in to the content server and using the web browser interface. Desktop Integration Suite provides a simplified interface for managing files in a unified way from all of your familiar desktop applications.

Desktop Integration Suite 11gR1 PS3 (11.1.1.4) offers most recently used (MRU) lists in Microsoft Office applications, which enable users to quickly reopen content items on Oracle Content Server they worked on before. For more information, see Section 4.5, "Most Recently Used (MRU) List."

Check Out Option for Read-Only Documents

Desktop Integration Suite 11gR1 PS3 (11.1.1.4) includes a check-out option on the Oracle UCM menu or ribbon in Microsoft Office applications, which enables users to check files that were opened in read-only mode out of the content server. They can then make changes and check it back in to the server as a new revision of the content item.

Reopening Documents After Check-ins

By default, Desktop Integration Suite 11gR1 PS3 (11.1.1.4) automatically reopens and checks out a Microsoft Office document after it is checked in using the Check In option on the Oracle UCM menu or ribbon (a "silent check-in"). (The previous release would close the document after check-in.) This behavior can be controlled using a Windows Registry switch (see Section C.6, "Disabling Automatic Reopening of Documents After Check-ins").

Integration with Oracle Content Server provides the broadest content management capabilities directly in the supported desktop applications. You can search for files on the server (using queries or by browsing), open files from the server (check out), save files (check in), and perform a number of other advanced content management tasks (such as comparing Word files on the content server or inserting files from the server into Office documents).

Please note that not all features of Desktop Integration Suite 11gR1 may be available when you are connecting to a pre-11g Oracle Content Server instance.

Integration with Oracle Content Database provides basic content management capabilities directly in the supported desktop applications. You can browse to files on the server, open files from the server (check out), and save files (check in).

Improved Integration With Other WebDAV Servers

Desktop Integration Suite 11gR1 provides improved integration with WebDAV servers that are not Oracle Content Server or Oracle Content Database instances. It now provides more content management capabilities, such as checking items in and out, undoing check-outs, and making items available offline.

Desktop Integration Suite 11gR1 no longer uses ODMA for Microsoft Office integration. Dedicated integration menus and ribbons are now used in the Microsoft Office applications to interact with content servers.

Oracle Content Server Profiles

Desktop Integration Suite 11gR1 supports selection of Oracle Content Server profiles on search and check-in pages. Content profiles allow content server administrators to set default metadata for files depending on their application type and to control what metadata fields are shown on the page. Please note that this feature is available only if you are connecting to an Oracle Content Server 11g instance, not earlier versions.

Oracle Content Server Productivity Nodes

Desktop Integration Suite 11gR1 supports the Oracle Content Server productivity nodes, which means that My Workflow Assignments, My Checked-Out Content, and My Saved Queries are displayed as special server folders under Oracle Content Servers in Windows Explorer and supported e-mail applications (Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes). Please note that this feature is available only if you are connecting to an Oracle Content Server 11gR1 instance, not earlier versions. For more information, see Chapter 6, "Understanding the Integration Hierarchy."

Metadata Prompts for New Files in Contribution Folders

Desktop Integration Suite 11gR1 may prompt for metadata when you drag and drop, copy and paste, or save new files to a contribution folder on an Oracle Content Server instance, if that feature has been enabled for that folder or if required metadata is missing. Please note that this feature is available only if you are connecting to an Oracle Content Server 11gR1 instance, not earlier versions. For more information, see Section 8.13, "Copying Content Folders and Files."

Desktop Integration Suite 11gR1 provides a user interface in Microsoft Word (menu items and selection dialog) that enables you to compare Word documents managed on an Oracle Content Server instance. You can compare a document with an earlier revision of the same document or with a different file on the content server. For more information, see Chapter 11, "Comparing Managed Microsoft Word Documents."

Folders_g (11gR1 and 10gR3) or Folders (7.5.2), which enables the contribution folders in the integration hierarchy.

CheckoutAndOpenInNative, which enables content items to checked out from Oracle Content Server and opened in their associated applications.

In addition, the following optional components may be installed and enabled:

DesktopTag, which manages custom properties in Microsoft Office files that are used for content tracking purposes, and also provides the "Document is ready for further workflow processing" functionality in Microsoft Office applications.

OracleCleanContent, which is used by DesktopTag.

EmailMetadata, which maps e-mail message fields to e-mail metadata fields and is also required for dragging and dropping e-mails into contribution folders in Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes.

RMAEmail, which provides e-mail metadata fields and enables users to work with e-mail distribution lists.

Note:

The Desktop Integration Suite 11gR1 components (DesktopIntegrationSuite, CheckoutAndOpenInNative, DesktopTag, and EmailMetadata) can be installed on Oracle Content Server 10gR3, but the server must have the latest 10gR35CoreUpdate and 10gR35NativeUpdate bundles installed. Specifically, the product build number of the server must be 7.2.4.55 or higher. To see this number, go to the Administration page of the server and then click 'Configuration for server_name'. The build number is included on the configuration information page, under 'System Configuration'.

Integration with Oracle Content Server provides the broadest content management capabilities directly in the supported desktop applications. Please note that not all features of Desktop Integration Suite 11gR1 may be available if you are connecting to a pre-11g Oracle Content Server instance. See Section 7.3, "Content Server Capabilities" for details on the integrated content management capabilities offered for Oracle Content Server instances.

1.4Supported Client Applications

The client software of Desktop Integration Suite 11gR1 can integrate each of the following client applications with the supported content servers. The installer automatically detects the supported applications on your computer and installs the appropriate integration features to provide these applications direct access to content management functionality.

Windows Explorer

Microsoft Windows XP (SP2 or higher, 32-bit or 64-bit version)

Microsoft Windows Vista (SP1 or higher, 32-bit or 64-bit version)

Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit or 64-bit version)

Desktop Applications

Microsoft Word 2002 (XP) through 2010

Microsoft PowerPoint 2002 (XP) through 2010

Microsoft Excel 2002 (XP) through 2010

Note:

You can interact with content servers from within these applications directly. Files created in other office applications (such as Microsoft Visio or Corel WordPerfect) can be managed using Windows Explorer integration or the content server's web interface.

The user interface language is automatically set to match the locale of the operating system; for example, if you are running a German version of Microsoft Windows, then the Desktop Integration Suite user interface will also be German.

1.6Accessibility Features

Desktop Integration Suite complies with Oracle's accessibility guidelines. It provides accessibility features in a number of areas:

The Desktop Integration Suite client software adds a number of menus and toolbars to some of the applications it integrates with. As is customary in Windows applications, each menu item has its own keyboard shortcut (Alt key plus a letter).

Context Menus

The Desktop Integration Suite client software provides context menus to provide options that are relevant to the current context of the application. For example, with a contribution folder selected, it shows options that are applicable to that folder in that particular context. To show a context menu, right-click an object in the integration hierarchy or the content pane, or press the menu key on your keyboard.